The Art of Faith Exploring Sacred ImagesScroll down to read the blog.

Twelfth-century reliquary with images from Thomas Becket's life. From the British Museum.

While some of the saints . . . are remembered for their courageous lives, and others for the legends woven around them, all have inspired the world’s greatest artists to commemorate them gloriously in painting.—Carole Armstrong

To end a twelfth-century struggle between the church and the monarchy, King Henry II ordered two knights to assassinate Thomas á Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Angry about the murder, the populace rose up against Henry and demanded his penance at Becket’s tomb in Christ’s Church of Canterbury. Within a short time, people reported miracles at the burial site and pilgrims flocked to visit the church.

Monks feared Becket’s body might be stolen so they placed his marble coffin in the cathedral’s crypt and built a stone wall in front of it. Two gaps in the wall allowed pilgrims to insert their heads and kiss the tomb. Later the clergy moved Becket’s coffin to a gold-plated, jeweled shrine behind the high altar. Canterbury already served as a pilgrimage site, but after Becket’s death pilgrims swamped the town, increasing its financial resources and religious prestige.

The attention afforded Becket’s burial site typified the reverence toward saints since early Christianity. When Christians thought about saints, the motto was “the closer the better.” In the earliest catacombs Christians wanted to be buried near the apostles and other saints, to assure an immediate passage to heaven, ahead of other believers. As more shrines, churches, and mausoleums sheltered the remains of saints, Christians planned trips to these locations. If they couldn’t manage an extended pilgrimage to faraway lands, they visited the nearest saint site possible.

When the focus on dead saints and their body parts bloated into a massive industry, Christians lost sight of the sacred reason for calling selected Christians “saints.” The Church originally honored these Christians for their piety, humility, service, and sacrifice. Not for their ability to draw crowds and produce income. As Christianity grew, so did the list of sanctioned saints. The Church assigned them feast days and Christian art depicted them with symbols that capsulated their ministries and miracles. It also corrected its course and remembered the real reasons for sainthood.

The Eastern and parts of the Western Church honored saints, both biblical and extra-biblical, and the numbers accumulated into the thousands. Some saints also earned the title, “Doctor of the Church.” Through the centuries, their teachings influenced the worldwide body of believers. Although the Church named thirty-three doctors, both Western and Eastern Christians honored four eminent Doctors of the Church, often depicted in Christian art. These saints—also called Church Fathers—contributed significantly to the doctrine and development of Christianity from the fourth through the seventh centuries. Whatever your believe about sainthood, these Church Fathers contributed significantly and positively to the growth of the Church, Consequently, their images flourished in Christian art.The Western DoctorsThe Western or Latin Church named these four church leaders “doctors” during the Middle Ages. In alphabetical order, they are:Ambrose. Fourth century. The Honey-Tongued Doctor. Ambrose worked as prefect of two Roman provinces and then served as the Bishop of Milan. Well-known for his eloquent preaching, Ambrose bestowed a fresh dignity and respect for the Church. He also originated the Ambrosian chant used in the liturgy. Feast Day: Dec. 7.

Augustine of Hippo. Fourth and fifth centuries. Doctor of Grace. Augustine became a Christian under the influence of Bishop Ambrose in Milan. Later Augustine moved home to Africa where he founded a monastery and served as Bishop of Hippo. He fought heretics and challenged other religions. Augustine also wrote literary works that profoundly impacted the Church. Feast Day: Aug. 28. Gregory the Great. Sixth and seventh centuries. The Greatest of the Great. Gregory sold his possessions and converted his home into a Benedictine monastery. He also built six other monasteries in Sicily and Rome. After living seven years as a monk, the Church ordained him as a Roman deacon and then named him pope. Gregory used his papal power to denounce slavery, stop war, and develop missions. Feast Day: Sept. 3. Jerome. Fourth and fifth centuries. Father of Biblical Science. Jerome became a priest in Rome, but eventually moved into a hermit’s cell near Bethlehem. He spent the rest of his life writing and translating the Bible into Latin, the common people’s language. His version of the Bible, the Vulgate, dominated Church study, thought, and worship for centuries. Feast Day: Sept. 30.Eastern DoctorsThe Eastern or Byzantine Church named these saints as their Doctors of the Church. In alphabetical order, they are:

Athanasius. Fourth century. Father of Orthodoxy. As Bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius fought against the spread of Arianism, a movement that claimed Jesus wasn’t equal to God the Father. One of his greatest contributions to the Church was his doctrine, homo-ousianism, that declared the Father and Son of the same substance. Feast Day: May 2.Basil the Great. Fourth century. Father of Eastern Monasticism. Because Basil struggled with pride from success, he sold his possessions and became a monk. He founded several monasteries and later the Church consecrated him as bishop of Caesarea. Basil possessed eloquent speaking abilities, engaged in relief work, and triumphed over Arianism in the Byzantine East.Feast Day: Jan. 2.

Gregory the Nazianzen. Fourth century. The Theologian. Gregory helped Basil with his exegetical works of Origen and the compilation of monastic rules. He became a priest and later served as Bishop of Caesarea and Sasima, and as archbishop of Constantinople. Gregory tried to bring Arians back to a belief in Christ’s divinity and he preached powerful sermons on the Trinity. Feast Day: Jan. 2.

John Chrysostom. Fourth century. Doctor of the Eucharist. John retreated to the desert to live as a monk. However, due to his health, he returned to Antioch two years later and became a lector. Over the years, the Church elevated him to the positions of priest and Bishop of Constantinople. John preached passionately about holy living and emphasized providing for the poor. Feast Day: Sept. 13. Learn more about saints depicted in Christian art in The Art of Faith by Judith Couchman (www.paracletepress.com).

What is good in the arts . . . has its beginning from God.—Clement of Alexandria

In the beginning was the Word.

Opening the Gospel of John with this statement, a writer declared the sanctity of words. Spoken and written words didn’t just express human thoughts. They embodied the Creator’s existence. The Word was with God and the Word was God.

This entwined relationship of God-and-the-Word could have been incomprehensible. But when the Word became flesh in the form of Jesus, an image appeared and sharpened understanding. People saw, touched, and spoke to God. And he spoke back. If Christ’s followers and skeptics listened and observed with spiritual ears and eyes, they better understood the Word. When apostles wrote letters to the early Church, they wanted generations to comprehend, too.

Eventually Christian artists patterned after these writers, helping people glimpse God. They sketched, painted, and sculpted to represent Christ. They etched, molded, fused, and wove his story into public worship, private devotion, and everyday life. Artists illustrated Scripture so seekers and believers could not only hear, but also see the Word. Long after Christ’s ascension, he still dwelt among them. See John 1:1-14.For more about Christian images, purchase The Art of Faith by Judith Couchman at www.paracletepress.com. Use the code Judith25 for a 25 percent discount.

The Tree of Death and Life from the Missal of the Archbishop of Salzburg.

The tree has played an important part in Christian symbolism. In general, the tree is a symbol of either life or death, depending upon whether it is healthy and strong, or poorly nourished and withered. —George Ferguson

The biblical message of salvation extended across thousands of years, from one tree to another. In paintings and sculptures of Adam and Eve, artists featured the tree from which Eve plucked fruit and offered it to her husband. Christians believed this disobedience—sampling from a God-forbidden tree—plunged humanity into sin and cast the couple out of the Garden of Eden.

The third-century Church Father, Tertullian, commented on this far-reaching act: “Man was condemned to death for tasting the fruit of one poor tree. From that, there proceeded sins with their penalties. And now all are perishing, even though they have never seen a single sod of Paradise.”

In the fifteenth-century Missal of Archbishop of Salzburg, an artist created an intriguing painting of the first couple’s disobedience. In The Tree of Death and Life the forbidden tree stood between a naked and sorrowful Adam and Eve. A skull hung from the tree’s branches, foretelling death’s punishment for them and future generations. But with a creative twist, the unknown artist also hung a crucifix from the garden’s tree. He painted the despair and hope of that moment.

The artist knew hope resided in another tree, the cross of Christ’s crucifixion. Biblical writers and early Church fathers referred to these two wood beams as a tree. In the first century Paul the apostle described how Christ’s tree supported redemption. He wrote, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13). A century later the apologist Irenaeus explained, “By means of a tree, we were made debtors to God. Likewise, by means of a tree we can obtain the remission of our debt.” Spiritually, Christians depended on trees.

Practically, people from the Age of Faith also relied on trees in their workaday lives. They needed wood to build homes, prepare meals, and generate warmth. Consequently, they recognized the trees and bushes symbolized in Christian art.But ultimately, all branches recalled the Tree that secured their salvation.To learn more about tree symbolism, purchase The Art of Faith by Judith Couchman at www.paracletepress.com. For a 25 percent discount, use the code Judith 25 when you check out.

In Christian symbolism the essence of the flower—its growing characteristics, its shape, color, its essence—coordinate to make a unified whole.—Gertrude Grace SillIn the fifteenth century Leonardo da Vinci painted a lesser-known work simply titled Madonna and Child. In this painting a pensive Madonna handed a red carnation to a chubby Jesus who struggled to grasp it. A shadow cast over the carnation. For contemporary viewers, this painting offers another variation on thousands of Mary-and-Jesus images hung in museums, galleries, churches, and homes. We might note that Mary wore the clothing and jewelry of the Renaissance, but miss the painting’s passioned theme wrapped in a singular, common flower. But Renaissance art spectators—especially Christian viewers—would have eyed and identified the message. They recognized the sermon built into blood-red petals.

In traditional Christian art, a flower seldom existed just for decoration. Botanical images—from a single green plant to a flower garden spilling with riotous color—exuded symbolism. Often this symbolism endowed a plant or flower with several interpretations. For example, a carnation’s meaning varied with its color. A bright-red carnation symbolized either heavenly or earthly love. The Greeks called the carnation the “flower of God,” and it frequently graced depictions of the Virgin Mary with her holy child. The red carnation also reminded viewers of motherly or healing love. In Northern Italian Renaissance paintings, a vase of carnations indicated divine love. Drawn from Flemish tradition, the carnation also appeared in betrothal and marriage portraits during the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries.

If one flower carried so much symbolism, we can barely imagine the meaning of a painted flourishing garden, woodland forest, or flower garland. But we can contemplate the interpretation of a few flowers or plants and how they contributed to the moral or devotional meaning of a mosaic, painting, or tapestry. As we enjoy botanical beauty, we can also appreciate its exquisite messages, delicately designed to grow the spiritual senses. To learn more about the symbolism in Christian art, read The Art of Faith by Judith Couchman. Available at www.paracletepress.com. Use the code Judith 25 for a 25 percent discount. Offer good through December 30, 2012.

To those who have eyes to see, all the invisible (spiritual) world is mysteriously presented in symbols of the visible world; and all the natural world depends on the supernatural world.—Maximim the Confessor

In the Old Testament, when Job suffered at the hands of Satan, hereferred to the innate spiritual knowledge implanted in animals. He implored his friend Zophar to recognize their wisdom: “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:7-10).

Christians integrated Job’s assertion into their religious convictions, believing the animals and birds of sacred art conveyed messages for them. These messages resided in metaphors, biblical stories, moral lessons, and Christian theology. Even more, Christians believed God purposely created some of the earth’s creatures to represent his salvation story. For example, pelicans revived their dead offspring after three days, symbolizing Christ’s resurrection after three days, saving humanity from sin. Peridexion trees shielded doves from dragons, just as the Church sheltered Christians from Satan. Dogs remained loyal to their owners, just as husbands and wives practiced fidelity. In this sense, all creation reflected the Creator, if Christians paused and observed. Christian art encouraged them to appreciate and learn from God’s creatures.

In the second or third century, an illuminated manuscript began assisting with this didactic process. The allegorical Physiologusgrew into a bestseller in Europe and Asia Minor, describing animals and assigning them spiritual meanings. Eventually this text expanded and combined with other works about animal lore, creating the bestiary of the Middle Ages.However, in the bestiaries artists took liberties with animals they’d never encountered in life. At times illustrators drew the crocodile as a dog-beast or a whale as a scaled fish. The ostrich walked with hooves and a serpent sprouted feet or wings. Some illustrators lacked the skill to accurately portray a creature while others mastered true works of art.

Christians felt the earth’s creatures magnified God’s greatness. In design, they represented a creative, magnificent God. They also believed, along with the ancient psalmist, creatures praised God. The psalmist explained, “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths . . . wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds” (Ps. 148:7, 10).Overall, beasts, birds, reptiles, insects, and fish populated Christian art. Although these creatures proliferated in illuminated manuscripts, they also appeared in jewelry, paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and other art forms. These works honored God’s creatures, and his splendor in the earth, sky, and water.To learn more about God’s creatures in Christian symbolism, read the book The Art of Faith by Judith Couchman. It’s available through Paraclete Press at www.paracletepress.com. Use the code Judith 25 for a 25 percent discount. Offer good through December 30, 2012.

I just published post #15 and when it went live, some text turned to red. These words are also underlined and lead to advertising links. This isn’t from me.

I wouldn’t trick my readers into advertising links, and it disturbs me that someone did this without my permission. (It seems this is happening in Google Chrome but not in Internet Explorer.) So as you read, please ignore these links. I just tried to eliminate them, but it didn’t work. I'll need some time to investigate how to delete them. In the meantime, please accept my apologies.—Judith CouchmanP. S. The only red link in Post #15 should be the connection to my publisher, Paraclete Press.

A contemporary fresco of the Ladder of Divine Ascent from the Twelfth Century.

From the first paintings on catacomb walls, Christian art affirmed the Judeo-Christian belief in an unseen world. In the Old and New Testaments, the Lord’s people struggled against Satan and called for assistance from angels. They relied on God’s Spirit for comfort and strength. They feared hell’s fires and longed for heaven’s glories.

Post-biblical battles against the devil also occupied artists. Medieval and Renaissance painters created many versions of Saint Anthony in the fourth-century Egyptian desert, warding off Satan with the sign of Christ’s cross. More than a millennium later, Martin Luther wrote about a night he debated and rebuked the devil. In between, Satan and his minions lurked in paintings and sculpture that warned Christians about his evil influence. In a twelfth-century icon titled, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent,” monks climbed a ladder to heaven with Christ waiting in heaven at the top. Demons tested the monks’ resolve, poking them with spears and shooting arrows, while angels encouraged them from above.

Yet Satan and his demons seldom won. Scripture stories and their accompanying artwork emphasized God triumphing over the Evil One and his spirits. The Lord’s power and rescuing angels delivered his people. The Holy Spirit guided their paths. But the choice belonged to them. Would Christians travel the broad or narrow path (Mt. 7:13)? For that matter, would anyone?

Medieval and Renaissance art, especially Church art, warned people about their eternal destination. According to Church doctrine, accepting Christ rewarded them with heaven; rejecting Christ condemned them to hell. The sculptor Giselbertus carved the front portal to the Cathedral of Saint Lazare in Autun, France, with the sobering prospect of the archangel Saint Michael weighing souls in the afterlife. Christ stood at the composition’s center, dividing groups of the saved and the damned. Entering the church each Sunday, the grand entrance reminded parishioners of the coming judgment.The seventeenth-century English poet John Milton claimed, “Death is the golden key that opens the palace of eternity.” Christians hoped for that eternal palace.

Last Judgment detail from a tympanum on the Cathedral of Saint Lazare in Autun, France.

Learn more about Christian art in Judith Couchman’s book, The Art of Faith (Paraclete Press). Purchase the book at www.paracletepress.com and receive a 25 percent discount. Use the check-out code, Judith25.

Artists created Christian works according to strict standards, so looking at a work of art centuries later can be puzzling or profound. It depends on how much information you gather and how the art affects you personally. Looking at Christian art, you can use some or all these questions to analyze an artist’s approach, a work’s meaning, and your response to it.

What is the work’s title? What insight does it lend to the content?

Who was the artist? Do you know anything about this person? If so, what? How might his or her life and other art affect this work?

When did the artist create the work? If you know anything about this time period or art era, how might it have affected the artist or the work of art?

What materials did the artist use to create this work? What did these materials contribute to its overall presence?

How would you describe the artist’s style? Why might he or she have chosen it?

How did composition, color, line, shading, perspective, and other elements or techniques contribute to the overall work?

What was the purpose of this work? If you don’t know, what would you guess it to be?

Was this work commissioned by a patron? How might this have affected the outcome?

If figures appear in the work, who are they? What do you know about them? Or how could you learn about them? Why were these figures meaningful to Christians?

What was the setting for the figures? What did this location contribute to the work?

What symbolism exists in the work? What did it mean to Christians of this era?

Was this work of art based on a biblical story or passage? If so, what was it? Why was it significant?

Can you discern a lesson or message in the work of art? If so, what is it?

How does this work qualify as Christian art?

What is your opinion of the work? Do you like it? Why, or why not?

Learn more about Christian art in Judith Couchman’s book, The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images (Paraclete).

Compared to other practicing religions of the first century, Christianity bloomed late. Converted during the reign of Roman Emperor Tiberius, the first bands of Christians in the empire looked absurd pitted against the mythical figures staring at them from imperial art and architecture. These gods, goddesses, and super humans stood on thousands of years of belief and worship, with hoards of their images reproduced in public and private venues, even on household objects. Christians worshiped a man crucified by the Romans, and had nothing visually to show for it.Christians claimed they worshiped one God in the form of three persons. But pagan Romans couldn’t envision relying on only one god. Roman citizens fearfully worshiped a host of finicky, unpredictable deities. They revered and appeased these gods so hopefully the empire and their lives would be safe and prosperous. Consequently, the pagans asked, “How could one god encompass three divine beings?” This “contradiction” didn’t make sense. Weren’t they really just three gods?

This is the mystery of the godhead. The one, true God of the Jews chose to express himself to the world as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Athenagoras, a second-century apologist explained, “Christians know God and His Logos [Word]. They also know what type of oneness the Son has with the Father and what type of communion the Father has with the Son. Furthermore, they know what the Spirit is and what the unity is of these three: the Spirit, the Son, and the Father. They also know what their distinction is in unity.”To explain the Trinity, Byzantine and Orthodox artists drew from the Old Testament story of three strangers visiting Abraham (Gen. 18:1-8). They illustrated the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as angels. Following this artistic tradition, the beautifully painted icon of the Trinity by Andrei Rublev has taught and inspired believers since the fifteenth century. The delicate colors and features introduced a lovely and accessible godhead.Many today display it as an expression of hospitality.

Because Jesus was God-in-the-flesh, in Christian art images of him vastly outnumbered those of God or the Holy Spirit. Jesus visited earth in human form, offering a visual concept that generations understood and communicated artistically. Paul explained, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Col. 2:9). In this bodily form, Christians witnessed the divine.

Read more about Christian art in Judith Couchman’s book, The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images (Paraclete).

What did Jesus do? In the fourth century, pilgrims to Jerusalem obsessed about this question. They wanted to not only see, but experience the places where Jesus lived and died. Devout pilgrims wanted to “walk in the footsteps of the Master” and respond with emotion and devotion.

In the fourth century Paula of Nola explained, “No other sentiment draws men to Jerusalem than the desire to see and touch the places where Christ was physically present, and to be able to say from our very own experience ‘we have gone into his tabernacle and adored in the very places where his feet have stood.’” Every week Christians gathered to reenact the Thursday through Sunday events of the Passion. Pilgrims wept, prostrated, worshiped, communed, and imagined themselves agonizing with Jesus as he prayed in the garden, stood before Pilate, and hung from the cross. These believers wanted to imitate Christ. Realistically, a Holy Land pilgrimage offered a few Christians a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary and spiritual high point. Being like Christ required a daily commitment to his teachings. For this, faithful followers listened to stories about his life and the apostles’ letters to the earliest Christians. Each Sunday priests read pages that admonished them to emulate Christ in their spiritual devotion and everyday relationships. In the same century as Paula’s pilgrimages, Church leaders collected these writings into a canon of approved Scripture, the New Testament. Artists enhanced people’s motivation to walk with Christ by illustrating the people and events of this newly formed Testament. During the eras when most Christians couldn’t read, these images acted as visual Scripture. Looking at Jesus pulling a fearful Peter from the water reminded them not to fear. Observing the prodigal son embracing his father taught them forgiveness.

Centuries later, as literacy expanded, visual interpretations of the New Testament increased, too. Word and image powerfully taught the imitation of Christ. Read more about Christian art in Judith Couchman’s book, The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images (Paraclete).

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Judith Couchman is an author, speaker, and college art-history instructor. Her recent book release is The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images (Paraclete Press). Scroll down to view the book cover and video trailer.

A Sampling of Books by Judith Couchman

The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images by Judith Couchman. Click on the photo to purchase the book through Paraclete Press.

The Mystery of the Cross by Judith Couchman. Inspirational readings about images of Christ's cross and how early believers used and respected this sign. Click on the photo to purchase from InterVarsity Press.